The uproar sparked by Monday's search of former Legislative Yuan Speaker Liu Sung-pan's (劉松藩) residence showed no signs of flagging yesterday.
Taichung District Court Judge Chuang Shen-yuan (莊深淵) led investigators on the search of Liu's Taipei residence in connection with a multi-billion dollar loan scandal to which Liu has been linked.
It is the timing of the raid that has aroused the harshest criticism, coming as it did just 26 days before the presidential election -- and given Liu's recent switch from the KMT to independent presidential candidate James Soong's (宋楚瑜) camp.
However, a number of people have also come out in support of Chuang -- who went on leave starting Tuesday -- and many have sent wreaths of flowers to his court office.
Judges of the Taichung District Court also issued a public statement backing Chuang yesterday, asking society not to destroy the independence of Taiwan's judiciary, which is still in its infancy.
Judge Chiang Te-chien (江德千) said it is not timing, but evidence that a judge has to evaluate during the trial process.
"If any judge has avoided moving ahead with a case because of timing considerations, that is an example of a decision influenced by politics," Chiang said.
"Many people have challenged the timing of Chuang's order, only 26 days before the election. What exactly is good timing? Is it a month ahead of the election or after that?" Chiang asked.
Liu has been linked to the case involving Tseng Cheng-jen (曾正仁), president of the Kuan San Group (廣三集團) and chairman of the board of directors of the Taichung Business Bank (台中企銀). Tseng is suspected of having used his position at the bank in 1998 to funnel loans of over NT$700 million to nearly 100 dummy accounts. Suspicions have been aroused that Liu was involved because he held the chairman's post before Tseng.
Chuang has summoned Liu and KMT legislator Chang Wen-i (張文儀) to testify in a court hearing on March 1.
With the election in a dead heat, accusations are rampant that the KMT is trying to manipulate the judiciary against the other candidates.
But Sue Wang (王時思), executive-general of the Judicial Reform Foundation, said it is no longer possible for the ruling power to intervene in judicial decisions.
However, she said, the party is still able to influence the outcome of certain cases: "Technically, the party isn't able to directly affect judges' decisions. But what's worrying is that it could still hamper a just result by blocking the possibility of evidence being disclosed."
"But I think there is one thing the judges have to think about: When the courts have acted so slowly in handling criminal charges against over 200 lawmakers, and when prosecutors have delayed so long in investigating a questionable multi-million dollar loan made by Vice President Lien Chan (連戰), how could you expect us to have faith in you?" Wang asked.
Meanwhile, a former manager of the bank was found dead after a fall from his Taichung apartment yesterday. His death is being investigated for any link to the Tseng case.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS